So the Americans did it. They avoided the fiscal cliff  right at the 11th hour, much as many of us suspected they would. Not that Americas travails are over. Quite the opposite. The fiscal problem has been merely deferred, not cured.

Meanwhile, even given Congressional agreement on immediate fiscal issues, the pace of economic recovery is set to be modest.

Yet even this is better than the outlook for the eurozone, where the economy is likely to languish, if not to contract further. Why do the US and the eurozone present such different economic prospects?

One possible answer is that the economic crisis has been less severe in America than in Europe. Yet the Great Recession began in America. Moreover, the initial falls in GDP were pretty similar across all of the older industrial countries. It has been the recovery that has been different, with America and Germany recovering the most. But whereas Americas recovery will probably continue to sputter along at about 2pc per annum, Germanys GDP growth appears to have come to a halt. Indeed, she could even slide into recession herself...

...The source for the euro exchange rate is the Federal Reserve, and I have calculated the euro's average exchange rate to the dollar for each year based on daily data.

US Imports of Crude oil

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Year

Quantity (thousands of barrels)

Value (thousands of US dollars)

Unit price (US dollars)

Average daily US$ per € exchange rate

Unit price (euros)

2001

3,471,066

74,292,894

21.40

0.8952

23.91

2002

3,418,021

77,283,329

22.61

0.9454

23.92

2003

3,673,596

99,094,675

26.97

1.1321

23.82

We can see from column (4) in the above table that in 2001, each barrel of imported crude oil cost $21.40 on average for that year. But by 2003 the average price of a barrel of crude oil had risen 26.0% to $26.97 per barrel. However, the important point is shown in column (6). Note that the price of crude oil in terms of euros is essentially unchanged throughout this 3-year period.

As the dollar has fallen, the dollar price of crude oil has risen. But the euro price of crude oil remains essentially unchanged throughout this 3-year period. It does not seem logical that this result is pure coincidence. It is more likely the result of purposeful design, namely, that OPEC is mindful of the dollar's decline and increases the dollar price of its crude oil by an amount that offsets the loss in purchasing power OPEC's members would otherwise incur. In short, OPEC is protecting its purchasing power as the dollar declines.

Where is this “recovery” he’s talking about? If he thinks USA is approaching some kind of recovery relative to his country, England must have slid back to Dickensian conditions. “Please,Master, might I have just a little more gruel?”.

Really; how long will Obama’s media maintain this charade of “recovery”? Any real recovery (in specific sectors or niches) is more than offset by the losses in most others. If the economy was in any positive shape Obama would’ve won 75% of the vote; he could only bribe the 47% of dependents, plus the government workers’ dependents, to cross the finish line.

So true. Owebama won because the propaganda media covers for him. Let's quit calling them the main stream media as this adds a legitimacy to them they don't deserve. One other thing. We need to critique pubbies that attack other pubbies for sins the dims commit. Such as the pork laden Sandy relief bill that Christy went off on the congressional pubbies about. They did the right thing there.

“We need to critique pubbies that attack other pubbies for sins the dims commit. Such as the pork laden Sandy relief bill that Christy went off on the congressional pubbies about. They did the right thing there.”

Sure. Christie is in a position where he desperately needs money for his death-spiral state (in which I live); he has tunnel vision, seeing only the goodies for NJ while ignoring the pork for the other states that was included in the bill. Basically, Republicans receiving the freebies attacked Republicans opposed to them.

Yes. Bumble was Dicken’s “unfeeling” (or at least unwilling to act on any compassionate feelings) parish beadle in Oliver Twist. As such, he was in charge of little Oliver’s workhouse, where, of course, he humiliated and sometimes beat up the charges/residents (inmates?). He married, unhappily, “for money” and eventually wound up a resident (inmate?) in the very workhouse where he formerly “Lorded it over” the poor and orphaned. A “poetic justice” ending for Bumble, it seems.

It used to be that only a couple of the larger media would “parrot the administration line” — CBS news was infamous for this, as were, of course the NYTimes and WashPost. However,
there were usually other major media who would still break stories about what was really going on inside the government, eventually anyway.
Today, this seems not the case. Investigative Journalism is dead as a dodo. And, every single newscast seems to feature a sound bite from Dear Leader, no matter how distorted, devisive, or shrill its contents. And, with either NO counter viewpoint to balance the story ... or else a patently ineffective or partial “rebuttal” -— so that the viewer or listener or reader is very much left with the impression that The Alien in Residence is doing wonderful things for us. Out there on his Great Quest, stabbing the Greedy, Lecherous Capitalist Pig Dinosaurs for the poor, righteous, downtrodden Proletarian Masses.

Journalism has become far, FAR less an honest trade than “good old fashioned” Prostitution. With the death of the 4th estate, those in power run amok.. as the governed (ruled) is either misinformed or uninformed, propagandized and thus...unable to direct the affairs of those who are supposed to represent and serve them (us).

The “Ministry of Truth” is alive and well, and the Republic is, alas, discarded in the dustbin.

Well put; couldn’t agree more. I only find Fox News slightly to the right of the rest of the batch. After seeing Al Sharpton & Bill O’Reilly given airtime there I knew Fao had been bought & paid for by the two-headed Republicrat Party...

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